Corey's world title tilt

WHEN Nick Frieswyk asked BMX organisers how old kids had to be to start racing, he was told they just had to be able to ride without training wheels.

This meant his son, Corey Frieswyk, took to the track when he was three years old.

"He was always on his bike, it was all he ever wanted to do. I thought it would be better for him to be riding on a BMX track than to be riding on the road," he said.

Corey Frieswyk is currently training overseas for the BMX World Cup in Manchester, England.

He said preparation for the world-class event had been intense.

"I would have to admit that I have never trained this hard in all my years of racing," Frieswyk said.

His dad said he always knew his son would go a long way in the sport.

"We used to always love watching the big boys, the elite riders, and I wondered if he would ever be as good as them," he said.

"But the sport is growing and he has already surpassed their level."

The 19-year-old rider has big dreams, and is determined to be selected to represent Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

But first he needs to do well at the world championships.

"My goal for this world cup is to qualify for racing. To do so I must get in the top 64 from time trials," he said.

"Making it to the quarter-finals would put me in a good position to be selected for the world's team."

Racing will get underway tonight with finals tomorrow at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, a purpose-built cycling facility that is home to an indoor BMX Supercross track and is expected to attract more than 200 athletes from 26 countries. His dad will be poised at the computer ready to watch his son ride live on bmx-live.tv.

"I wasn't able to get over there to watch him ride," he said. "I will head to Brisbane to see him ride for the nationals though."